


Anything You Want

by ceruleaneyes



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Anal Sex, First Time Blow Jobs, Friends With Benefits, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Minor Jake English/Dirk Strider, Open Relationships, Pining, Secret Crush, the ending isn't super sad, they don't end up together but it's okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:02:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22868335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceruleaneyes/pseuds/ceruleaneyes
Summary: “You can call me anything you want, dude,” Dave grinned, looking over his shoulder, gorgeous, even with his pale hair tousled and slick with sweat. “I just draw the line at ‘boyfriend.’”
Relationships: Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas, John Egbert/Dave Strider
Comments: 2
Kudos: 54





	Anything You Want

**Author's Note:**

> I'd recommend listening to Stacy by Quinn XCII while reading the fic :}

“You can call me anything you want, dude,” Dave grinned, looking over his shoulder, gorgeous, even with his pale hair tousled and slick with sweat. “I just draw the line at ‘boyfriend.’”

\----------

That was his reply, the third? Fourth? Fifth? time? That John had hooked up with Dave. Dave was a senior, cool, popular (in his own way), and  _ oh, so carefree.  _ John was a freshman, straight as an arrow ( _ ‘I swear!’ _ ), up until Dave slung an arm around his shoulders, invading his space, all smiles and dark shades and  _ oh, is that a tattoo peeking out from the pushed up sleeve of his shirt? _

John wasn’t sure why Dave chose him. He could have anyone he wanted-- John was sure he was already dating someone; he’s seen the blond with his hand stuck in the back pocket of someone’s jeans before, casually copping a feel right in the school hallway. Karkat, his name was, John thinks. Another senior, but it was easy to get confused-- he was a short guy, easily mistaken for someone younger.

But John's seen the way Dave flirts easy, limbs loose and relaxed as he leans over the bars fencing the bleachers from the track. Karkat was standing there on the other side of the divider in his football gear, gruff and stocky. He looks like he could pulverize John if he wanted to. Karkat nods, and there’s a shadow of a smile crossing his face just before he puts his helmet back on, when Dave blows him a kiss.

That’s why John’s mind races wildly when Dave wanders over to where he was sitting, plunks down right beside him and in his space--  _ leaning into it,  _ even. An arm was slung around John’s shoulders like they were old friends, and Dave doesn’t hesitate, nor does he sound accusing when he mildly comments, “couldn’t help but notice you checkin’ my ass out back there, dude.”

John’s face flushes with heat, but he says nothing, staring intently down at his laptop with homework that’s been ignored for the past ten minutes in favor of the aforementioned crime--

“I don’t mind,” he smiles. He’s not even looking at John, he’s looking out at the field, watching Karkat tackle someone. “I’ve got a nice ass. I wouldn’t blame you for dreaming ‘bout getting your hands on it and giving it a good squeeze. Hell, might even let you give it a solid smack, if you ask real nice.”

Steam was surely pouring out of John’s ears by now. Dave speaks so easily, and John’s not sure if this is supposed to be subtle bullying, or if Dave was legitimately hitting on him, right here,  _ right where his maybe-boyfriend could see, looking like a brick shithouse that could definitely tackle him the moment he tried anything funny. _

“...so what d’you say?”

“I-- what? Sorry,” John blinks, not sure he heard right.

“I said you’re decently cute, and seem like a nice dude,” Dave deadpans, peering over his shades. His pale lashes catch John off-guard, framing surprisingly expressive, deeply colored eyes. They seemed to be the only dark coloring on him, other than his eyebrows and shades. They’re brown? Or almost like a really dark red, he’s not sure; he got distracted by what was said next.

“I’d be down to go downtown on you, if you’re into dudes.”

He’s not sure how it was even  _ possible  _ for his face to get any hotter than it already was. “I-I’m not gay,” he fumbles a little with his laptop, trying to look like he was resuming his work. No dice though, since Dave could see his screen. Pretending to type would be a moot point if the blond could see that he was just keymashing. “Y’know, no homo, and all that…”

“Oh?”

Dave’s got this cocky look on his face when John trails off. Oh no.

“I mean…” he taps his bottom lip thoughtfully,  _ and oh no, why the hell do his lips look so plush and perfect for what he just propositioned--  _ “If we say no homo afterwards, that’s cool right?”

_ Oh, absolutely, yeah, that definitely counts, what the hell-- _

“Great! C’mon.”

Oh god, John said all that out loud.

\------

...And that’s how he found himself with his back to a wall, a hand clamped over his mouth, eyes shut tight as Dave’s wonderfully hot mouth worked his shaft.

Dave had grabbed his hand and led him off to the side of the gym building and started kissing down John’s neck.

He was right about those lips; they felt nice on his skin, leaving a tingling, warm trail down his neck, along his jaw, down his chest and stomach after Dave rucked up his shirt. He meant to ask about Karkat, what if they get caught, does Dave even know who he is, does he normally do this kind of shit-- but it was so  _ awfully distracting  _ with someone’s hand down his pants.

John’s mouth opened, about to stumble over his question, but all that came out was a breathy moan,  _ holy shit,  _ Dave’s hands worked quick with getting his jeans open. There was absolutely no hesitation when his dick was quickly swallowed down.

“No homo,” he momentarily pulls off just for that comment,  _ and fucking winks,  _ hand giving him lazy, practiced strokes. “Try not to get  _ too  _ excited too soon, yeah?”

Oh, he’s  _ good--  _ John finds himself nodding dumbly to what was probably a jab at his stamina, but it was a little hard to think about scathing retorts when Dave’s mouth is back on him again, taking him down to the root every time his head sank back down.

He sighs through his nose, a hint of a moan when John’s fingers thread into fine, pale locks, curling into them and tugging slightly when his hips give an involuntary jerk, pushing deeper. The hand Dave had curled around John’s thigh gives a small squeeze, and his hair is quickly released, but Dave just gives him a small pat on the ass, a subtle push on his hips, and John gets the message. There’s hesitation at first, but there’s no resistance, and he’s fucking into Dave’s mouth soon enough, muffling his groans behind his hand, dimly praying they don’t get caught before he gets to cum. Or caught at all, really. Hell, why did he even allow for the possibility of getting caught at any point at all?

John’s so lost in the sauce of this accidental semi-revelation of a possible exhibitionist kink that his orgasm sneaks up on him, and he doesn’t have time to warn Dave before cumming down his throat with a shuddering whimper of his name.

Dave seemed more surprised by the fact that John already knew his name.

He barely even looked bothered at all as he stood up again, dusting off the knees of his jeans one-handed, and that’s when John registered that they were undone, and Dave’s other hand was slick with cum.

_ Oh. _

A sky blue handkerchief is meekly offered by way of apology, and Dave glances up at him in gratitude before taking it to clean up his hand. The two of them were halfway through getting decent again when John’s ears stop ringing enough for him to make out the string of words coming from the other, picking up a casually tossed out, “...anyway no homo, right?”

“Yeah… yeah, no homo,” John mumbles, buttoning up his jeans.  _ Holy shit. Did that just happen? _

“Wait--” Dave pauses doing his little shimmy--  _ god, why are his pants that tight, he  _ literally _ has to make an effort to get his ass settled in them properly--  _ and looks up at him questioningly.

“That guy-- the one you were talking to. Before-- before,” a vague gesture that wasn’t  _ meant  _ to be in the area of his dick, but that’s what happened, too late now.

“Karkat?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, yeah, he’s cool with it.”

“Wait--  _ what? _ ”

“He’s cool with it,” Dave repeats, tone as-a-matter-of-fact. “We’ve got ground rules and shit, but overall, he trusts me enough to be cool with--” now  _ he  _ gestures in the area of John’s crotch, an almost-laughing grin on his face. “This.”

“Oh.”

“No homo though, right?” he sounds too teasing, too smug, like he’d just proven to John somehow that as much as he says no homo, it kind of  _ is  _ a little homo.

“Yeah. No homo,” John clears his throat. “I’m, uh. John. By the way.”

“Y’know, I was about to wonder where my manners were with the whole introducing-yourself thing, but you seem to already know my name,” Dave replies brightly, clapping him on the shoulder. “But it’s nice to meet you, John. I’m Dave, and I gotta get going, actually. See you around?”

Dave’s still smiling that smile that says he knows the secret truth behind the no homo, but doesn’t outright tease about it. He’s nice about that, at least. The dick-sucking, too, he was  _ real  _ nice about that.  _ Holy shit.  _

“Yeah. See you around…”

John doubted that.

* * *

John was wrong. On multiple occasions.

They  _ did  _ see each other around. Enough to actually become sort-of friends? At least as friendly as they could get to be friends-with-benefits tier with each other. 

It was surprising, what you could learn about someone, post-coitus.

Dave was chatty. He’d talk a lot after every time the two of them hooked up, no matter how much time they’ve got to spare afterwards. Whether it was a quick go at each other in some secluded area in school, and one or the other had to dash off afterwards, or Dave was inviting John over, and they were playing on the Xbox on the couch after, all disheveled and glowing from being post-orgasm.

It was one of those times when John had asked.

_ “Ah- yeah- there-” _

John had quickly graduated from only receiving blowjobs and handjobs to giving them in kind, moving up in ranks until he got to where he was now, which was balls-deep in Dave, fingertips digging into his hips as he panted, giving as good as he got.

“ _ Fuck--  _ John, please,” he groaned, head tipping back when John tugs at his hair. Dave seemed to really like getting his hair pulled. “ _ Pleasepleaseplease, yes-- _ ”

“Dave--” John’s breath hitches, letting go of Dave’s hair to tug at his hips with both hands, slamming into him as he cums.

“ _ Ffffffuck… _ ”

Dave’s still got his ass in the air, hand slowly pumping his cock through his own orgasm, cheek resting on one folded arm while John maneuvered the condom off himself, still breathing raggedly.

“Hey,” Dave sounds tired, but amused. “No homo?”

John scoffs, rolling his eyes a little as he tosses the condom away. “Yeah, whatever. No homo. Whatever this is. What am I even supposed to call this-- call you?”

Oops. Wasn’t meant to say that last bit out loud.

“You can call me anything you want, dude,” Dave lifts his head and grins, looking over his shoulder, gorgeous, even with his pale hair tousled and slick with sweat. “I just draw the line at ‘boyfriend.’ That title’s taken.”

Ah.

John’s not sure why his stomach suddenly feels weird. So he just nods when Dave asks if he wants to order post-sex pizza. Maybe he was just hungry.

* * *

They hook up a few more times, and between that and schoolwork, John almost forgets time slipping by. Dave manages to pay attention to both him and Karkat enough that John could easily forget the little pangs of  _ whatever-that-is  _ whenever he sees the two of them together around campus.

(Something just twists strangely in his gut whenever Dave waves at him from afar, his other hand clasped with Karkat’s. It gets weirder when Karkat gives him a small nod of acknowledgement, too. There’s nothing behind it other than I-know-of-you-but-I-don’t-really-know-you-personally, so it shouldn’t be weird, but it  _ was.  _ Dave had even mentioned that Karkat said he’s glad that Dave’s having fun. With John. Which is probably what made it weird.)

* * *

“...I’m graduating in a couple of months.”

It shouldn’t be surprising, and while John doesn’t physically flinch, his in-game car causes a pile up and flies off road from the momentum of the other players crashing into him, momentarily glitching before resetting back on the track.

Dave doesn’t seem to notice, too intent on maintaining his lead.

“Probably gonna haul ass to film school or something, dunno yet,” he continues, eyes glued to the screen.

“Oh? Which one?” John hoped he still sounded casual, and that whatever note was in his tone just sounded like concentration on catching up to Dave.

“LA, probably?”

That was on the literal other side of the country.

“Guess that means we won’t be seeing each other anymore, huh?” the joke sounded feeble, even to John, and the defeat was more than just from losing the race.

“...Dude.”

Oh god, now that Dave’s crossed the finish line, he had the freedom to turn his head to look over at John. There was something unreadable on his face, and it wasn’t just because John could only look at him out of the corner of his eye.

“Egbert-- John, I--” Dave hesitates, gnawing on his lip. “We can keep in touch, no problem, you’ve got my number and all, but. We’ve talked about this, haven’t we?”

They have.

“We’re, like, best bros by now, but that’s all.”

They were.

“I’ve got Karkat, and you… You’ve got the rest of your high school life to get together with someone else. Like that chick from the debate club, Terezi, right? Or, or that one, uh, Vriska? Yeah. I remember you saying she was really cool and stuff.”

Right. Them.

“...and, y’know,” he almost sounds apologetic, like even he knew it was a bit of a cheap cop out. “The whole, no homo thing?”

It’s true. As much as they hooked up, Dave was sure to make it so that it never got out that John was doing the do with another guy. John’s expedition through the land of sexuality was kept on the down-low. John vaguely recalls Dave talking about how uncool it was to out someone, when he found out his other brother was lowkey pressuring his boyfriend to come out as gay already. It wasn’t about John, but somehow he felt like he was being reassured that he could trust all this was a well-kept secret from the world at large. As far as everyone outside their arrangement knew, Dave was just a really good friend. And he was. That’s all.

“Yeah, no homo,” John repeats, feigning disinterest in the conversation, like choosing the next map was far more important. “It’s no biggie, man. Now c’mon,  _ this  _ time, I’ll definitely win; I could do this track with my eyes closed.”

Dave seems to relax a little. Maybe he got worried for no reason? John was a big boy. He knew that this was just casual. Surely that was clear from the very beginning?

So he smiles faintly, picks up his controller again and hits start.

* * *

Dave looks nice in his pressed suit. He’s taken off his toga and suit jacket—what kind of dumbass wears a jacket under all that? It must be  _ sweltering _ —and he’s folded up the sleeves of his shirt by the time he finds Karkat in the crowd, grinning when he pulls him into a hug, and a kiss. John sees the familiar, red lines of Dave’s clockwork tattoo peeking out on his arm a little. Remembers when Dave said he adds a cog to the design whenever something significant happens to him. Wonders if he’ll get a new addition to mark his graduation. Belatedly realizes that in all that time of seeing each other naked, the tattoo never changed.

Not that he was expecting it to. They were just friends, after all. No biggie. The stories Dave had told him for each one were much bigger deals than I-made-a-friend, definitely.

“--Wasn’t expecting to see you here!”

John jumps a little, caught off-guard by Dave suddenly being right in front of him with Karkat in tow. Their outfits complemented each other, sort of. Dave in his black shirt, white tie, and red blazer, Karkat in his red shirt and black tie.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” John winces. “My dad dragged me along. He’s making a cake delivery for someone here. Remembered you were one of my friends, said I should come with to congratulate you and all that…”

“Aw, say hi to Mr. Egbert for me, yeah?” Dave smiles, and Karkat scoffs a little beside him, like he knows something neither Dave nor John knew, and he could see right through it.

“Yeah- yeah,” John returns the smile as he’s clapped on the shoulder, reminding him of the first time. “Oh, right, congratulations. You, too, Karkat.”

“Thanks, man, that-- Hey! Dadbert! How’s it going!” and Dave’s bounding off toward John’s dad like he was his own father, leaving Karkat with John.

“Uh,” John scuffs the ground with the toe of his shoe as Karkat levels him with a look.

“...It’ll be alright, Egbert.”

“--what?”

“I said, it’ll be alright.”

As grumpy as he seemed, Karkat had an almost understanding look on his face, like he was getting ready to sit on a backwards chair to give him a pep talk about young love.

“Dave’s… Hard to read sometimes, but he’s really easy to like when he wants you to like him,” he says slowly, choosing his words. “And I’m not just saying this because I’m his boyfriend or anything, but it’s not the end of the world. If he’s your first, he’s probably not gonna be your last. And he’s not gonna stop being your best friend, if you don’t want him to stop.”

The pep talk was weird, considering who was giving it, but it was also a little comforting, John supposed. Karkat looks like he’s been there before. John’s seen it sometimes in the way Karkat looks over a crowd for Dave, like someone who’s waiting for his other half to make good on a promise to come back. And that Dave is one to actually keep his word.

“A lot of shit happens in high school,” he adds, tilting his head a little, as if trying to read John’s expression. “It’ll be alright.”

* * *

By the time Dave’s waving them off, John had already taken a breath and made his resolve. Karkat was right. It’ll be alright. He’s made a really good friend in Dave, and it’s alright that things went the way they did. Maybe having him as just a friend would be better than actually getting together with him. And it is. But for now, he’s got some getting over to do.

He’s got enough time on his hands.

He’ll be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> I heard the song and was seized by the urge to write this fic lmao  
> it's not the ending I'd want either, but I wanted to try to stay in line with the song as much as possible hahhoo


End file.
